I am a Managing Partner at Brookside Strategies, LLC, an energy and utility management consulting firm based in Darien, Connecticut. I've spilled blood, sweat and tears grappling with the full spectrum of barriers and misconceptions about distributed generation and energy-efficiency technologies. Previously, I practiced law in New York City at Paul Weiss Rifkind Garrison & Wharton, LLP and Jenner & Block, LLP. I also attended journalism school at Columbia University and earned a JD at Stanford Law School. I've written about energy and environmental issues for Forbes, The Nation, Mother Jones and several other publications. I am the Chair of the Northeast Clean Heat and Power Initiative. Drop me a line - or two - at wmp@cleanbeta.com.

John Hancock Signs Off On Distributed Solar

John Hancock, a division of the Canadian financial services conglomerate Manulife FinancialManulife Financial, said it would join the Libra Group in providing equity funding of $40 million for a portfolio of solar power projects in the United States.

The projects will be developed by Soltage, LLC, a solar integrator based in Jersey City, NJ. is backed by a group of investors, including Tenaska – a major independent energy company with an impressive portfolio of roughly 13,000 megawatts of power generating assets under management.

In 2013, Soltage formed Soltage-Greenwood, a joint venture with Greenwood Energy.

The consortium plans to bring at least six commercial-scale solar projects online in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont by later this year.

Greenwood Energy, the North American division of the Libra Group based in Green Bay, WI, has already assembled an impressive portfolio of cogeneration projects in the commercial sector, including two projects at hotels in New York City and a larger 1.4 megawatt project with FuelCell EnergyFuelCell Energy in New Britain, CT.

The joint venture with Soltage will significantly expand Greenwood’s presence in the distributed solar space.

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